Bruce’s Birthday Bash, Part 1: The Cocktail Hour

Grissini

484 Sylvan Avenue

Englewood Cliffs,

New Jersey 07632

201-568-3535

Bruce the Returner. Airplane Eddie. Big Boy. The Hillbilly. King Angry. Wheels. You could be forgiven for mistaking this colorful cast of characters for something right out of Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment. But no, these are some of the world’s most passionate collectors, all of whom gathered in New Jersey recently to celebrate the birthday of Bruce the Returner. 

The cocktail hour got off to a rousing start with a mind-bending array of Burgundies, mostly from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The Liger-Belair 1923 La Tâche, a true rarity, was the best of the wines from the 1920s and 1930s. It showed lovely inner sweetness and plenty of perfume in an ethereal, silky style. The first bottle of the 1929 Romanée-Conti was completely faded. A second bottle was noticeably fresher and firmer, with superb density for its age, leading me to think it had likely been refreshed along the way. I was among those who thought the bottle was very slightly corked, but there wasn’t a consensus at the table. Sadly, the 1934 Romanée-Conti was past its peak.

A magnum of the 1953 Richebourg was intense and powerful, but lacked a measure of density in its fruit to stand up to the wine’ structure. Still it was a beautiful bottle. Suggestions of mint and flowers lingered on the close. The 1957 La Tâche (jeroboam) was simply beautiful as it hovered on the palate in a poised expression of this great vineyard. The aromatics alone were extraordinary, but everything about this Burgundy was drop-dead gorgeous. The 1962 La Tâche was also wonderfully perfumed and spiced, with pretty notes of truffles that emerged from the glass. The 1962 was slightly leaner and more ethereal than the 1957. The 1962 Romanée-Conti was breathtaking for its richness, density and a superb finish that seemed to never end. It was an extraordinary, totally seductive wine of the highest level. The 1964 La Tâche was another gorgeous wine endowed with a sweet, open bouquet and layers of silky, textured fruit that caressed the palate with notable grace.

Krug’s 1942 Vintage was insanely beautiful for its textural beauty and impossibly refined finish. This was a great, great bottle that I will never forget. Sadly, a bottle of Bruno Giacosa’s 1982 Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda was very good, yet did not hit the high notes it so often does. The 1970 Barolo Collina Rionda was terrific. This fully mature, resolved Barolo emerged from the glass with layers of spiced fruit and tons of harmony in an understated expression of the great Rionda vineyard. The 1955 La Mission Haut-Brion, served from double magnum, presented quite a contrast to what had been a set of mostly delicate wines up until this point. The 1955 La Mission offered up a compelling array of cigar box, ash, smoke, earthiness and dark fruit in a deep, powerful style. There were elements of a wild, almost animalistic quality to the wine that added to its personality. This was a magnificent bottle of an iconic wine.

Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat’s 1969 Musigny was surprisingly powerful and tannic, but still showed plenty of vibrancy in its dark fruit. René Engel’s 1969 Grands-Echézeaux wasn’t in such great shape. It came across as angular and awkward. The 1945 Dom Ruinart, served from jeroboam, was truly remarkable. The wine revealed an intense color, followed by deep notes of apricot jam, spices, smoke and ash. It was terrific.

With that, the cocktail hour was over, and we were summoned upstairs for dinner…..

Food:

Shrimp cocktail

White truffle pizzas

Soft-shell crabs

Wine:

[Photo and credit: Grissini, New Jersey]

-Antonio Galloni